Nigel Farage unveils ANOTHER sacked Tory defector in main occasion
Nigel Farage has unveiled ANOTHER sacked Tory as his latest recruit to Reform UK.
James Evans – a former senior Welsh Conservative – was sacked last month over suspicion he was going to join Reform. Mr Farage announced him as the latest defector at a press conference in Wales.
And Mr Farage also announced Dan Thomas, a former Tory who defected to Reform last year, will be Reform’s new leader in Wales.
During a Q&A, Mr Farage moaned about facing accusations that Reform is becoming ” bunch of Tories” and said he just can’t “win”. “On the national level, I’m told: ‘Well, you’ve got no track record. You’ve got no one has had been in Cabinet.’ So Robert Jenrick joins us and: ‘Oh, you’re just a bunch of Tories.’ But I can’t really win can I?”
Asked if there were “one too many Tories in Reform now”, the Reform leader said if 5-8% of candidates at the local elections are former Tories then no. He added that he believes in “Christian forgiveness” in allowing former Conservatives into his party.
He said: “We welcome former Conservatives who’ve seen the light. We welcome former Labour people. We welcome people, despite their political pasts. We believe in Christian forgiveness. And we’re very happy to welcome them to the bright side.”
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PA)
Speaking on stage, Mr Evans – the current Senedd member for Brecon and Radnorshire – admitted he has criticised Reform UK in the past but suggested he had
“I have criticised Reform in the past. I’ve done it publicly, and I’m not hiding away from it.” But he said he has reassessed and believe Reform is the only one dealing with the “truth” that Britain and Wales are broken.
He went on to launch an attack on the media and suggested it was driven “by left wing activists who pass themselves off as journalists”.
Mr Evans was sacked by the Tories last month over suspicions he was planning to defect to Mr Farage’s party. Darren Millar, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, dismissed Mr Evans as shadow cabinet secretary for health and social care and withdrew the party whip. Since then Mr Evans, who was first elected in 2021, has sat as an independent.
At the time, Mr Farage insisted he had not spoken to Mr Evans. He said: “This is not true. I have not spoken to Mr Evans for a couple of years.”
Welsh-born former London council leader Mr Thomas was also unveiled by Mr Farage as the leader of Reform UK in Wales before the Senedd elections in May. Mr Thomas, who grew up in Wales, was the Conservative leader of Barnet Council from 2019 to 2022 and joined Reform UK last year.
In December he quit as a councillor for Finchley Church End after returning to Wales with his family.
Reform had one Member of the Senedd after former Conservative Laura Anne Jones defected to join the party in July, and now have a second, after Mr Evans’s defection.
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